Round 20 Review – State League Men’s
It was a weekend for upsets, with three of the top four suffering dramatic defeats in Round 20 of the State League Men’s.
Match of the Round – SD Raiders FC vs. Wagga City Wanderers: 8-2.
A hat-trick from in-form striker Mitchell McLintock helped SD Raiders to a comfortable 8-2 win over Wagga City Wanderers at Ernie Smith Reserve on Saturday night.
McLintock’s three goals take his tally to an incredible 29 so far this season, while Scott Dunn netted his 15th of the term for the visiting side.
Barely eight minutes had ticked by when SD Raiders opened their account after Wanderers goalkeeper Robert Fry could only parry Damien Smith’s powerful left-footed shot, allowing Daniel Martinez to pounce on the loose ball and slot home from close range.
Six minutes later Raiders were in again, with McLintock latching onto a floated through ball from midfielder James Raiti to volley home crisply from outside the area.
SD Raiders scored again on 23 minutes, with Nicolas Colantonio making the most of a poor clearance from the Wanderers defence to curl his shot inside the far post from just outside the box.
Barely sixty seconds passed before Raiders had their fourth, with McLintock again the beneficiary of great lead-up play in midfield, collecting a lofted diagonal pass from Smith to score his second.
The game was into its 29th minute before Wagga City registered a shot on target – Scott Dunn hitting his free kick straight into the chest of Raiders stopper Tom Romic after the referee pulled play back for handball just outside the penalty arc.
Wagga City did however manage to pull a goal back nine minutes before the break, with Dunn nodding on a well-hit corner to winger Tyler Allen, who smashed a right-footed volley past the stranded Romic.
Wanderers scored barely 45 seconds later to make it 4-2 when midfielder Carl Pideski won possession back in the centre of the pitch and fed a well-timed through ball to Dunn, who rounded Romic and passed the ball into an empty net.
Wagga City looked to have halted the home side’s momentum with those two goals, but the interval came at the worst possible time for the Wanderers, and SD Raiders continued applying the blowtorch as the second half progressed.
Nine minutes after the break the Raiders had their fifth through midfielder Mark d’Alessandro, who rose highest to meet Fahmi’s free kick and send his looping header over Fry and into the net.
Only a minute later and McLintock had his hat-trick, and his best goal for the night – receiving the ball with his back to goal, he pirouetted to beat a defender, touched the ball out to his left and lashed a left-footed shot inside the far upright.
Wagga City seemed to be growing into the second half, winning a promising free kick in their attacking third on 63 minutes – which harmlessly sailed over the cross bar – only for Raiders to score their seventh goal seven minutes later when Joseph Mensah beat his marker to head home Fahmi’s in-swinging corner.
With McLintock substituted after 72 minutes, SD Raiders looked elsewhere for attacking inspiration; centre-back Gordan Opacic hit a twenty metre drive well over the bar, while Smith had his shot from outside the area saved off the line by Wanderers right-back Logan Flanagan.
SD Raiders wrapped up the scoring with ten minutes left to play as Fahmi scored a goal deserving of his industry on the night, completing a neat team move and calmly converting from just outside the penalty area.
Match Stats
SD Raiders FC 8 (Martinez 8’, McLintock 14’ 24’ 55’, Colantonio 23’, D’Alessandro 54’, Mensah 70’, Fahmi 80’)
Wagga City Wanderers 2 (Allen 36’, Dunn 37’)
Saturday, 13 August 2016
Ernie Smith Reserve
SD Raiders FC: 11. M. Atlagic, 29. N. Colantonio, 15. M. D’Alessandro, 10. J. Fahmi, 27. A. Forcella, 100. A. Iorfino, 21. D. Martinez, 9. M. Mclintock, 18. J. Mensah, 4. N. Niski, 5. G. Opacic, 8. J. Raiti, 23. T. Romic, 17. D. Smith, 14. M. Symington, 20. A. Tuzlic.
Yellow Cards: D. Smith
Red Cards: N/A
Wagga City Wanderers: 11. T. Allen, 16. C. Barber, 2. J. Brooker, 4. J. Curran, 18. L. Dedini, 9. S. Dunn, 5. L. Flanagan, 1. R. Fry, 8. A. Grant, 15. S. Jenkins, 10. A. Jolly, 3. A. Macleod, 7. D. Okot, 6. C. Pideski, 14. J. Ploenges, 12. B. Schmid.
Yellow Cards: J. Brooker, L. Flanagan
Red Cards: N/A
Round Summaries
Hurstville City Minotaurs vs. St. George FA: 1-0.
The Hurstville City Minotaurs have pulled off the shock of the weekend, bringing to an end St. George FA’s fourteen game undefeated streak.
A solitary goal to Hurstville’s Felipe Ibar was enough to secure all three points for the home side, in a game that was more about missed opportunities than those taken.
St. George coach Manny Spanoudakis feels his team was incredibly unlucky, but ultimately overcome by a side who was extremely hungry.
Spanoudakis says, “I stopped counting after the sixth goal line clearance they made. They parked the bus and bunkered down… their goalkeeper was the man of the match.”
“Somehow miraculously, he kept everything out and the ball refused to go in… one long ball with the wind in the second half caught us napping and the striker took his chance well.”
“I guess this was a local derby and they played like it was Grand Final. Disappointing, but at the end of the day you can’t begrudge them the win irrespective of strategy.”
Hurstville City coach Peter Sarikakis was over the moon with the result, saying, “I must say my boys did themselves and this historic club proud.”
“I told them before the game they must trust me, and if they carried out my instructions they can win the game… they did as I asked and they beat the best team in the competition.”
“I am happy for them and very proud of each and every one… not many teams have beaten St. George. How sweet it is!”
St. George will feel mildly relieved to see that Hurstville FC also lost their game, meaning their commanding lead atop the table is preserved.
Prospect United vs. Bankstown United FC: 2-1.
Prospect United continued the theme of upsets this weekend, overcoming third placed Bankstown United in a result they’ll feel has been a long time coming.
Talented striker Joel Bayubahe gave Prospect an early lead, but Bankstown fought back strongly and equalised thanks to Tommy Markovski. Bayubahe was again the star for Prospect, scoring a late winner to secure all three points. Goalkeeper Owen Rogers pulled off a vital double save in stoppage time to see his side over the line.
Prospect coach John Caruana says that his side is delighted to have won twice in one week, having also beaten Gazy Auburn 5-0 in a makeup game.
“We started very well and could have been 3-0 up in the first twenty five minutes… Bankstown came back strong and finished the half well.”
“The second half was very even and we scored late. We survived in the end and had some luck.”
Caruana highlights Bayubahe as the side’s standout, but also highly commends Nick Valjack, Matt Viera and Troy Sullivan’s performance in midfield. Caruana was delighted with the effort made by Adrian Jennings and Michael Viera in defence.
“It was good to win and the future looks good so hopefully we can end the season on a high. It was good to see the boys smile.”
Bankstown United coach Petar Finka noted that it has been a Round for unlikely defeats.
“I think we were a bit complacent and our final killer pass was off… and when we got it right, we didn’t take our chances.”
“Also, the state of the playing pitch was not the best and didn’t help our playing till – but that was not an excuse.”
Nepean FC vs. Hurstville FC: 1-0.
Nepean FC have pulled off the third major upset of the round, edging second placed Hurstville FC 1-0 in a feisty competition.
Michael Fakiye was the hero for Nepean, scoring the game’s solitary goal. Hurstville threw everything at the home side but could not take their chances.
Nepean’s result is made more impressive by the fact that they played for most of the game with ten men, after Simon Ly was sent off in the thirty eighth minute.
Nepean coach Magdy Andrawes is proud of his team’s achievement, saying, “Being one of the only two teams that had beaten Hurstville FC, we knew it was always going to be a tough ask.”
“It was made even tougher when our player [Ly] was given a very unjustified second yellow. I’m very proud of all the lads, they dug real deep and wore their hearts on their sleeve.”
“They stuck to the game plan and executed it with belief and pride and were rewarded in the sixty sixth minute [after Fakiye’s goal] and then defended well to keep a great team in Hurstville to a clean sheet.”
Andrawes says this win is a testament to how far his team has come in the second half of the season, but that they will remain focused on improving and making the most of their final three games.
Hurstville FC coach Alex Prophet believes his team’s inability to finish was the cause of their loss. Hurstville have now missed another major opportunity to gain points on St. George.
Western Condors FC vs. University of NSW: 1-0.
The Western Condors will be relieved to have returned to winning ways this weekend, but did not find things particularly easy in a 1-0 victory over the University of NSW.
Both sides will have felt they could have played better this weekend, in a game that ended up being decided by the finest of margins.
The Condors hold on to their position in the top six, but have a lot of work to do if they’re to catch up with Camden in fifth. UNSW remain rooted second last on the table.
Camden Tigers FC vs. Gazy Auburn FC: 3-0.
The Camden Tigers continue to storm forward towards the Finals, securing an expected but well executed 3-0 victory over Gazy Auburn.
Jayden Russell found his way back on to the scoresheet this weekend scoring twice. Brody Page scored his second goal of the season to confirm the victory for the Tigers.
Camden coach Dean Bradley doesn’t think his side were quite at their best, despite the commanding result.
“To be honest, that was not our best performance though I’m pleased that we didn’t concede and created multiple chances.”
“We scored a few good goals off our hard work causing Gazy to make mistakes… their goalkeeper in the second half had a great game as it could have been more.”
Bradley says that his side are looking forward to getting back on the training pitch, with a short turnaround to their next game this Friday.
-by Daniel Palmer, Football NSW State League Men’s Reporter
